ALSDE - Elementary and Secondary School Report

Introduction

This 2014-2015 "Alabama Education Report Card" includes a wide variety of data and financial information that, when taken together, provides a holistic picture of the world of K-12 education in the state of Alabama and is committed to academic excellence which provides education of the highest quality to all Alabama students, preparing them for the 21st century. Topics covered include Student Information, ACCESS for English Language Learners, ACT Aspire, ACT Plan, Alabama Alternate Assessment, National Assessment of Educational Progress Report, General System Information, Staffing/Classroom Information, Career Technical Information, and Funding Information, [For a prior "Alabama's Education Report Card, 2012-2013," see ED547254.]

Elementary and Secondary School Enrollment

ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment anchored in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and administered to students in Grades K-12 who have been identified as English learners (ELs). 
Educators must measure what students know at a point early enough in their academic careers to make adjustments and continue to measure their progress and what they learn over time. With the adoption of ACT Aspire.

AP Class Enrollment by School District

The many benefits resulting from college education usually justifies the money spent obtaining a degree. Although wages between high school and college graduates often does not vary significantly until after years of work experience is acquired, college graduates usually earn more money during their working lives than people with only high school diplomas. The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that those with bachelor's degrees earn nearly 2 million dollars, associate's degrees nearly 1.5 million dollars, and high school diplomas nearly 1.2 million dollars during their careers

Total AP Class Enrollment

Percent AP Class Enrollment


Teachers and Payroll

The average Public School Teacher salary in Alabama is $51,904 as of March 28, 2019, but the range typically falls between $45,311 and $59,918. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. 

Total Payroll by School District

How much public school teachers are paid has become a hot topic in statehouses across the country. AL.com recently reported teacher salaries in Alabama have lost value since the start of the Great Recession, after adjusting for inflation.
Teachers in Arizona, Colorado, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky have protested austere education budgets in recent weeks, with some winning raises for themselves and others forcing Republican-led legislatures to support tax increases that will eventually lead to higher education funding.

Teacher to student Ratios and Algebra Performance

Results from the new tests Alabama’s public school students took in spring 2018 are now online at the state department of education’s website, albeit only in csv form.
ALSDE took a look at those results, finding that overall, results of the Scantron reading tests in grades three through eight were much better than results on the ACT Aspire---the test is no longer in use by the ALSDE but results remain accessible here for researchers and data analysts. Students in grades three through six didn’t perform quite as well on the Scantron in math as they did on the ACT Aspire, but students in 7th and 8th grades did considerably better on the math portion of the Scantron tests.

State Education Performance Data Explorer

This trend of higher wages correlating with higher education is best understood by examining the increasing demand for skilled workers in the workforce. During the 70's, wages for college graduates stagnated because of the oversupply of educated workers in the workforce. However, technological improvements during the recent years have created a huge demand for workers with specialized training and skills.